Had my knee surgery and even before the weather was very cold. Now we’re in the throes of a massive snow event…almost 2 feet so far. I suspect it will be like this all winter.
That said…I’ll see you in 2010 with more rants from the golf course.
First time in 2 weeks I could play. Last two attemps rained like crazy. Then, I was away for the holiday with my family in New York.
Today it started out quite chilly but turned into a gorgeous day to be on the course. It was almost 60, no wind (a miracle for us) and I was playing with 2 of my friends…the third has a cold and didn’t want to come out in the cold weather, which it was when we first started out.
I didn’t play well at all, but I also had to wear too many layers.
It was my day to lose balls….lost 4. Oh well. Hard to swing with a shirt, jacket and down vest. The vest did come off on the back nine, but kept the sweater on.
Will try to play Friday. Supposed to be nice (sunshiny) but it’s also supposed to be cold. If I don’t play Friday, this round will be my last for the next couple of months, at least. Having a knee replacement Monday and will be out at least 2 months. If I have to do something with my back, maybe another couple of months. It’s going to be a long winter so I’d love one more chance to play…but won’t play if the weather’s cold since I can’t afford to get sick now….
Real golfers go to work to relax
It was great to be out, but too cool to take off my sweatshirt. I had it zipped up to my neck because every time I started sweating and opened it a bit, I would get cold. It looked like rain was imminent, but they said it wouldn’t and they were right. Only problem was my arms were encumbered so I couldn’t swing right. Half the time I felt like Ed Norton, trying to get the sleeves loose enough for me to take a half way decent swing.
Temps only stayed in the 50s and the sun only peeked out a couple of times, which was more than they said it would. Needless to say, the real me showed up today, unlike the other me who showed up Monday.
I did discover something (of course not until the 15th hole) but better late than never, I guess. I’ve been trying to chip and pitch with the ball off my back foot so I could catch it and get it in the air. I have been doing abysmally with it and couldn’t understand why. Then, on 15, I was on the side of a hill in the rough and played the ball in the middle of my stance. I had a perfect pitch onto the green. It happened again on 16 and the same thing happened. Same on 17…so I will abandon the back foot stance for now and see if the middle stance is the real thing. I did exactly what you’re suppose to do, so we’ll see.
I did have some wonderful shots….and I managed to lose 3 balls, but I was outside playing golf with 3 of my friends, including Chatty Cathy, but it was a wonderful day! I can’t wait to do it again!!
I had a wonderful experience on the golf course today. I had a hole in nothing. Missed the ball and sank the divot.
I finally played a decent round. I even broke 100 which I wanted to do at least once more before my surgery. I guess the week of not playing rested me enough to at least play half decently.
We had a full 5 days of rain…Tuesday through Saturday. It was a totally miserable week. I did get to watch some movies but it was so depressing outside, I had no ambition to get much of anything done.
Today and yesterday, were glorious Indian Summer days, with temps in the 70s. I wore longs over shorts. Sweatshirt came off before I teed off on hole 1 and I finally decided to get the pants off (the long ones) by the 12th. I’m so afraid of getting sick before my surgery, so I kept them on a bit longer than I normally would have. The back nine is more protected that the front so it’s a bit warmer.
I hit some beautiful drives and made one or two really good putts.
I bought a gap wedge, 54 degrees, with some winnings I had from tournaments. I needed something for the 70-80 yard range. It just wasn’t cutting it. I was only getting about 60, which is what I use my sand wedge for. I gave it to the pro (in training) who sold it to me, and he’s going to adjust it so it’ll be 52 degrees. He has a machine that does that. It’s a really nice Ping club. Maybe how it’ll go as far as I need it to go. Let’s hope. He’s a really sweet young man….so I know he’ll take care of me.
All in all, a beautiful day to be out on the golf course with friends.
There is no movement in the golf swing so difficult that it cannot be made even more difficult by careful study and difficult practice.
I’m getting tired of being tired. I’m pooping out earlier and earlier. I suspect it’s the pain meds I take for my back, too. Once the knee and back are fixed, I should be almost as good as new.
I started off great. Was playing quite well, compared to how I’d been playing. But, then the wearies set in and I just wasn’t hitting the ball correctly.
I lost 3 balls in plain sight. The first, on 3 I shot and never saw again. I thought it went left but I never did find it. I hit a provisional and ended up having to play that. It happened again on holes 10 and 16. On 16 it was a dynamite hit and went sailing past the BFTs (big f***ing trees) but I never found it. I did find a nice, new Noodle someone lost, but couldn’t find mine. I also hit one into the environmental area on 17. My second shot made it but that ball was a found ball so no harm, no foul.
So I played crappy overall, but it was a beautiful day and I was with my friends, so that’s OK. At this time of the year when my body is so tired from playing, I don’t get too wound up about not playing well. I know come Spring, I’ll be fine…and will have had plenty of rest recuperating from my knee surgery.
Golf’s a hard game to figure. One day you’ll go out and slice it and shank it, hit into all the traps and miss every green. The next day you go out and for no reason at all you really stink.
I gave myself a birthday present. Dinner last night with my Honey, golf today with my friends.
It was a beautiful day, bright sunshine all day. We had about a 25mph wind that kicked up before we started plus temps in the 40s and 50-s made it a tad chilly for the first 9 holes. The back nine is more protected and the temps got a little warmer, so it wasn’t as chilly.
I still had too many clothes on to be able to swing comfortably. I played miserably, but it ’s my birthday, I was out playing golf with my buds…the sun was shining and all was right with the world!
We had a fun day. The bad news is we have 2 inches of rain so it was cart path only with no flags…and I wouldn’t have wanted to be on the course with the course. It was soaking wet. It was so wet the water was sloshing all over the place. My socks and shoes were soaking wet and the bottom of my pant legs.
I’ve listed all the “events” we had to do for each hole…it was fun but after the first few holes, we quit keeping score…I actually played well..better than I’ve played in a long time…on many of the holes.
Anyway…here’s what we did. Oh yeah…it was hot and humid. I was sorry i didn’t have shorts on under my pants. It’s 70 but the humidity made it feel like August instead of almost November.
I played with my 3 regular partners and another friend who fills in when we need a 4th. Two gals walked and 2 rode (including me). One of the gals who walked was exceptionally chatty today…all morning. She was talking while we teed off, hit in the fairway and when we putted. She knows better but she was really beyond the pale rude today. I know she didn’t realize she was doing it, but not for 18 holes. I even had to stop once while putting and ask her to stop. She’s not a new golfer, so she really should have known better and waited until folks had hit. sigh!
It was a tad chilly this morning when we started out but it very quickly turned into a lovely day. Sun was shining for most of the round and although it was in the 60s, it was almost perfect.
Of course, since it’s still October, I played abysmally. I have to admit my back is really hindering my ability to stay down. I’m so afraid of twisting too much so I’m not using any torque and hitting mostly with my arms. I must say I managed to hit the ball mostly straight, right at the place I was aiming for. I hardly ever do that so to do it the majority of the time is quite exciting for me.
Of course, I couldn’t capitalize on it, so it’s kind of a “whoopie do” kind of thing! There’s always Wednesday 
I love golf. I live golf. I dream golf. If only I could play golf!
And on the course. Of course, I’m still playing like crap.
I didn’t play yesterday 
because I had a doctor’s appointment. I missed the last day of league golf that counts. Next week they’re having special events because it’s the last day of the league and also Halloween…or the Halloween golf day. Oh well…I’m in a 3 way tie for the ringer board…a possible 68. If I could only put it all together so I could shoot that….
Anyway…no immediate back surgery…I was hoping for some relief, but we’ll see. I have to see another back doc because mine is being deployed We’ll see.
So we were a twosome. We’ve been trying to play golf together all year…we finally got to do it. It was a very slow day with a slow threesome of men in front of us, who teamed up on the 13th hole with a slow twosome in front of them…so they thought a fivesome would play faster. WHAT???
We asked them very nicely if we could play through…since they were now tedious. They didn’t like it, agreed to let us, then continued to play…so F**K them! They pissed me off so I called the pro shop on them. The pro came out and they had to split back up. A fivesome…how rude and then not let a twosome play through…no courtesy, no golf etiquette.
Golf is supposed to be a gentlemen’s game…but there are never any gentlemen on the course….so we had to wait on EVERY hole for their slow play. One guy in the group in front of us almost hit the same guy in their threesome twice…once on the front nine, once on the back. They paid no attention to where anyone was…which is extremely dangerous.
When they were a fivesome, four of them were on the green and one guy was way back where we were. That’s when he almost hit one of the guys. If I wasn’t so angry, it would have almost been comical!
So it was one of those days! I actually thought it was going to be good…I parred the first hole and bogeyed the second…then I got kinda crappy. I also got tired and my back prevents me many times from staying down on the ball. I think subconsciously, I’m afraid of twisting too much and hurting it…so I lift and end up topping the ball or not getting completely under it. Oh well, a bad day on the course is still better than working.
Another plus…the heron was on 17 stalking bugs or fish or something. He totally ignored us as we drove slowly by, looking at him. He’s such a beautiful bird!
Forget about all those “how to” books, videos and articles. The only sure way to save strokes is with an eraser!
That was the kind of day it was. It was in the 40s when we started out. I was wearing a shirt, golf top, and a winter vest. The sun was (finally) out after 4 straight days of rain. It did warm things up but not much, until of course, we were finished. It didn’t get above 60 while we were playing.
I got hot so took the vest off on the 3rd hole. I started sweating, as I always do, but the wind was so cold, I got cold because I was wet, so I had to put the vest back on. It didn’t come off for good until about the 8th hole when it really started warming up on the course. Needless to say, I didn’t have the freedom in my arms the summer affords.
I had a horrible weekend. The low pressure really got to me so I was not all that loose and ready to play. Add to that the extra clothes and the round was, basically, a disaster.
I rode in the cart myself…the other 3 ladies walked. I wanted to walk badly, but knew I wouldn’t get very far. It did give me the freedom to go where I wanted…that’s how I got the shots of our Blue Heron. We saw him stalking a fish on hole #2 and stalking something else on hole #17. The trees are really starting to turn and the course looks gorgeous!
I played like s**t again.The topper was the putt for par that stopped right on the cup’s edge. It was so close to going in, I could have blown it in! That’s the kind of day I had.
Because of my wonderful October play, I fully expected my handicap to go way up…instead, it went down again like they did last year at this time. It’s reduced because of exceptional tournament play during the year. Dummy here shot a 90 and a 95 in a tournament on courses that are more difficult than my home course, so they reduced my handicap again. At least I’ll hopefully have an opportunity to get some more under 100 scores next year so when the reduction is over, my handicap will stay the same or go down. I really play like crap in October…
With back surgery looming (I’m almost certain) and hopefully I’ll still be able to get my knee done…I’ll be bionic in the spring and more pain-free…hopefully!
Anyway…that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
If your typical round is 85 and you shot a 95, you’ve had what is called an “off game.” Wouldn’t this be equally true if you shot a 75?
So here are my pictures of the changing leaves on the course and our Blue Heron
